The University of San Francisco men's basketball (21-15, 9-9 WCC) will host the North Texas Mean Green (18-17, 8-10 Conference USA) in game one of the College Basketball Invitational Finals on Monday night at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center. Monday night's game will be televised live on ESPNU with Roy Philpott and Jason Capel on the call. As always,
Pat Olson and coach Jim Brovelli will have the Dons audio broadcast which can be accessed on the men's basketball schedule page. Tickets to Monday night's contest are available at
Dons Ticket Central.
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Mar. 26, 2018 – 7:00 p.m.
Opponent: North Texas Mean Green (18-17, 8-10 Conference USA)
Site: San Francisco (War Memorial Gym at the Sobrato Center)
Audio: Livestream.com
Talent: Pat Olson (Play-by-Play) and Jim Brovelli (Analyst)
TV: ESPNU
Talent: Roy Philpott (Play-by-Play) and Jason Capel (Analyst)
Live Stats: USFDons.com
Game Notes: USF vs. North Texas
TOMORROW'S GAME
The Dons have advanced to the CBI Finals following their
65-62 win over visiting Campbell last Thursday. The tournament now shifts to a best of three format with USF hosting game one and then traveling to Denton, Texas for game two on Wednesday and game three on Friday if necessary.
USF is making its first appearance in a postseason tournament final since 1956 when the Dons captured their second-straight
NCAA Championship. Should the Dons be crowned CBI Champions, USF will become the first Division I team to win three different Division I postseason championships. They won the NIT in 1949 and back-to-back NCAA Championships in '55 and '56.
On Thursday night, following the Dons win over Campbell, USF improved to 4-1 in the month of March, and have won seven of their last 10 games. At home, USF improves to 15-6 which is the second most wins at home since the 1995-96 season. Against the Camels on Thursday, junior
Matt McCarthy recorded his second double-double in the CBI tournament when he grabbed a career-best 14 rebounds and scored 15 points. This tournament, McCarthy is averaging 12 points and 10.6 rebounds per contest.
Members of Conference USA, North Texas enters Monday night's game with an 18-17 overall record. They have won four of their last six games dating back to Mar. 1. North Texas has started a new-look lineup for the College Basketball Invitational and are 3-0 scoring 90 points at South Dakota, 96 points at home against Mercer and 90 points against Jacksonville State. It is the first time since 1990-91 that the Mean Green have scored 90-points or more in back-to-back games against division one opponents. Leading the team in scoring is Roosevelt Smart who is averaging 19.7 points per game. As a team, UNT is averaging 74.5 points per game while shooting 45.3 percent from the field. Their opponents are averaging 71.4 points per game while shooting 43.0 percent from the field. On the road, North Texas is 6-10 this year.
THE SERIES
When the Dons host the Mean Green on Monday night it will be the first ever matchup between these two schools. Earlier in the year, North Texas defeated San Diego 86-83 in overtime, the only common opponent both teams share.
UP NEXT
The winner of Monday's game will take a 1-0 advantage in the best of three series. Game two of the series heads east to Denton, Texas where the Dons and Mean Green will play at the Super Pit. Tip off for Wednesday's game is slated for 5:30 p.m. PST. Friday's game, if necessary, is slated for a 4:00 p.m. tip in Denton.
